Ignorance needs to be answered

It’s good to see new names on the letters page. I don’t like to be a letter hog, but ignorance needs to be answered.

Pete Hill’s gotcha letter explained how “the Bush tax cuts were federal tax cuts and not state tax cuts.” Nice try, Pete. I’ve explained this to uninformed Conservatives several times in my previous letters, but I guess I’ll have to do it again.

Most states use the Adjusted Gross Income from the federal return to begin calculations of state tax liability. Google, “How States Piggyback on Federal Personal Income Tax Calculations.” So, therefore a federal tax cut is a state tax cut. Illinois had surpluses from 1997 though 2001, thanks to President Bill Clinton’s tax increase. One year after the Bush tax cuts, Illinois revenue went from a surplus to a $1.2 billion deficit. Some estimates say Illinois has lost about $21 billion in revenue since the Bush tax cuts.

During the last 30 years of Democratic control, Illinois had 18 years of Republican governors, who gave away our financial future. They are Thompson’s 3 percent annual compounded increases for state retirees, Edgar’s underpayment plan for pensions and Ryan’s early retirement gimmick for state employees.